Getting Started

Your path of practice begins here.

Give practice a place in the life you have

You may be drawn to meditation, curious about awakening, or looking for a way to live more fully from what you have begun to understand. Perhaps you have practiced for years and still wonder how the teachings can inform the way you meet difficulty, care for others, and carry your responsibilities.

Life’s Work explores these questions through Buddhist teachings, meditation, and the circumstances of daily life. Its purpose is to help us develop trust in our capacity to meet life and respond with generosity, kindness, and compassion.

You can begin with the question that matters to you now. The resources below offer places to explore and opportunities to study and practice together.

A little about me

I’m Greg Patenaude, a Buddhist teacher and writer. I began studying and practicing the Dharma in 2004 with my root teacher, Younge Khachab Rinpoche. Since 2008, I have led meditation groups, retreats, and classes online and in person.

Life’s Work brings together teachings I have received, understanding deepened through practice, and the work of giving that understanding a form I can share. I’m interested in how the path of awakening takes expression in the lives we already have: in meditation, relationships, work, and our contribution to others.

More about me →

Explore Practice

The Practice guides bring together introductions, practical guidance, and selected writing. You can follow a subject that draws your interest or begin with something you are encountering in your own life.

Foundations of Meditation

Learn how to begin and sustain meditation. Explore shamatha, or calm abiding, and vipashyana, or insight, alongside guidance on working with distraction, understanding your intention, and continuing when practice feels difficult.

Explore Foundations of Meditation →

Dzogchen

Explore the Great Perfection: its view, lineage, meditation, and relationship with daily life. Find an introduction to the path, the role of a teacher, and how to approach receiving instruction.

Explore Dzogchen →

Daily Life

Consider how understanding informs the way we listen, respond to difficulty, and care for others. These writings begin with relationships, emotions, work, and responsibility, exploring how they become places for practice.

Explore Practice in Daily Life →

Explore Teachings

Study and shared practice give us opportunities to deepen understanding, bring questions into conversation, and continue with support. Choose an approach that fits your interests, experience, and circumstances.

Looking for a particular subject? Explore teachings by topic.

Courses

Follow a structured exploration of a subject, with teachings that build on one another and space to reflect and practice. Each course page explains its scope, format, and who it is intended for.

Explore Courses →

Retreats

Retreat offers time for sustained attention to practice within a teaching setting. Find opportunities as they are announced, with details about the subject, preparation, and participation.

Explore Retreats →

Science of Mind

Explore questions about mind, perception, thought, and emotion through Buddhist study and inquiry. Consider how understanding the formation of experience relates to meditation and the way we live.

Explore Science of Mind →

Stay connected

Join the Life’s Work email list for new essays and announcements about courses, community, and retreats. It is a way to remain in conversation with these questions as your own practice develops.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need meditation experience?

You can begin with the introductory writing and Foundations of Meditation without previous meditation experience. Individual courses and retreats explain who they are intended for and any preparation or prior instruction required.

Is Life’s Work rooted in Buddhism?

Yes. The writing and teaching draw on Buddhist traditions, including Dzogchen, and explore the relationship between wisdom, meditation, and compassionate conduct. You are welcome to read and investigate without deciding in advance how you identify with the tradition. Particular practices and teaching relationships may involve commitments, which should be understood before entering them.

Where should I begin?

If you want to establish meditation, begin with Foundations of Meditation. If the nature of mind and the possibility of awakening draw your interest, explore Dzogchen. If you are working with a question in your relationships, work, or emotional life, begin with Daily Life. You can move between these sections as your questions develop.

Do I need to change my whole life to practice?

Practice can begin within the circumstances you have. A workable meditation rhythm, clearer attention to your conduct, and opportunities to receive instruction can give it a continuing place. Over time, practice may also ask you to reconsider habits, commitments, or conditions that shape your life.

Can I learn Dzogchen by reading the website?

Reading can introduce the view, explain terms, and help you identify questions. Dzogchen practice develops through a relationship with a qualified teacher, including direct introduction and guidance appropriate to the transmission. The public guides help you understand that context and find an appropriate beginning.

How can I ask a question?

For questions about Life’s Work or finding an appropriate place to begin, contact me. For a particular course or retreat, use the contact information on its page so your question reaches the appropriate organizer.

More questions? Reach out to me directly.

“The path isn’t a retreat from life. It’s a call to presence, courage, and compassion in action.”